Retired American tennis player Chris Evert recently hit back at a fan who claimed she has an agenda against Serena Williams. The fan recalled an old letter Evert had penned down for Williams, but Evert has now doubled down on her stance.
The 18-time Slam champion had composed a letter to Serena Williams in 2006, a time when Williams had suffered many setbacks in her tennis career. Evert is now unhappy with how the letter was perceived, claiming that her intentions were misunderstood by certain individuals on social media.
In the letter, Chris Evert had conveyed strong feelings about Williams’ career trajectory and had expressed disappointment regarding the now 40-year-old’s below par results. The tennis veteran went on to advise Williams to focus entirely on her tennis career while in her peak years.
"Just a couple of years ago, when you were fully committed to the game, you showed the athleticism, shot-making, and competitive desire to become the greatest player ever," noted Evert in the letter. "Many besides myself shared the same sentiment. You won five of the six Grand Slams you entered over the 2002 and 2003 seasons and looked utterly dominant in the process."
“Then you got side-tracked with injuries, pet projects and indifference, and have won only one major in the last seven you’ve played. I find those results hard to fathom. You’re simply too good not to be winning two Grand Slam titles a year. You’re still only 24, well within your prime. These are crucial years you’ll never get back. Why not dedicate yourself entirely for the next five years and see what you can achieve?”
A fan then used the said piece of writing against Evert, claiming that she also had an not-so-constructive attitude towards the recently retired tennis legend.
“Chris Evert’s attitude towards Serena Williams has been going on for a long time. Check out this letter she wrote to Serena in 2006,” wrote the fan.
The former American pro noticed the interaction and hit back, saying that Williams went on to win several more Slams only after taking her advice.
“And afterwards she committed herself and won 18 more,” Evert remarked.
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
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